As a strategist in social media I must know and understand online trends to be credible so I am very active on social networks. I am also a multimedia content producer, writer and web curator with a social network/blog so I choose to share my writing/video projects online using social tools. The social web allows me to express all of these aspects of my "personal brand" in niche groups that care about each different type of content I produce.

I choose to develop my social network personas on Facebook, Linked-in etc. much as I do my "personal brand" in off-line. If I meet someone and they ask for my card, in person I usually give it to them. I have never had a bad experience networking in this way. So, over time I have chosen to accept most friend requests, Linked-in connections and follow those who follow me on Twitter for the sake of self promotion.

Social networking is as much business as it is social to me because I must proactively maintain these extensions of my "personal brand". I take the social web very seriously because I understand its purpose and I realize I must develop my social network literacy as a part of my professional development. Of course, I use Linked-in for serious business, but I tend to be active on social networks, like Facebooks and Ning sites out there, to understand the trends so that I can be knowledgeable about them and implement them in other spaces.

I also, of course, use these social networks for fun and to keep in touch with family and friends. But I do not mind allowing contacts from my business life to be a part of these networks because I am an active participant in my activity stream in order to monitor my "personal brand". I never allow things I would not want my work counterparts to view to surface on these sites (hopefully). If some one tags me in a picture I do not like I quickly delete the tag. Ultimately, network management is your personal responsibility and it takes time and diligence so you should never become a part of more networks than you can actively monitor.

The key to being as open as I am, is my understanding of my own, personal level of network literacy. I know and understand my privacy settings, so I can block or un-friend people who are not adding things to my activity stream that I like. I also use new network aggregation tools like Chi.mp to combine activities and make network management easier, where possible (see http://grandison.mp). Thus, I am only limited by my ability to manage my own networks. As a socially open person I must be much more diligent in monitoring and maintaining my personal networks and their settings.

If you work in the tech industry and you are developing a "personal brand", we are living in a unique time where we can reach millions of people by utilizing our extended online networks. I would advise those interested in developing a "personal brand" to be as visible as possible on as many networks as possible to build your "social capital".

If you are not a part of the tech industry and are not seeking to develop an "personal brand" this is "ok" too. But do so at your own risk because social networks are not going anywhere. The web is growing exponentially and the need for social sites that filter and curate the vast amounts of content available is vital to it's growth. Businesses are also implementing social networks more and more as part of intranets. Your kids are even using them to meet friends and select partners. There may come a time when social network literacy is as important as knowing MS Outlook. How soon this happens is the question...

I look forward to the day when schools are teaching network literacy as a part of their computer literacy curriculum because I think this is a vital school-to work skill.

Response to: Should Your Social Network Be less Social? By Sean Halter